Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Wilmington, NC

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000 FXUS62 KILM 251927 AFDILM AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 327 PM EDT SAT MAY 25 2013 .SYNOPSIS...
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DRY AND COOL CANADIAN AIR WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. A WARMING TREND WILL BEGIN ON MONDAY...CONTINUING THROUGH THE UPCOMING WEEK...WITH MINIMAL RAINFALL CHANCES. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES MAY RISE ABOVE NORMAL WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
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&& .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SUNDAY MORNING/...
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AS OF 300 PM SATURDAY...DRY WITH UNSEASONABLY COOL CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NEAR TERM AS A CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES OVERHEAD. TEMPERATURES THIS AFTERNOON WILL PEAK IN THE MID 70S MOST PLACES...ABOUT 5 TO 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL DEPENDING UPON LOCATION. GUIDANCE AND SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW SUNNY TO MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES FOR THIS AFTERNOON WITH ONLY SOME PASSING CIRRUS MOVING OVERHEAD. FOR TONIGHT WE WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN MID AND UPPER LEVEL CLOUDINESS AS DEBRIS CLOUDS FROM AN MCS WELL UPSTREAM MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. TEMPERATURES OVERNIGHT WILL CONTINUE TO RUN WELL BELOW NORMAL...RANGING FROM UPPER 40S INLAND TO MID 50S AT THE BEACHES. WEAK COLD ADVECTION WILL AID IN SUPPRESSING TEMPERATURES OVERNIGHT. WOULD GO A BIT LOWER ON TEMPERATURES BUT INCREASED CLOUD COVER WILL PUT A DAMPER ON RADIATIONAL COOLING.
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&& .SHORT TERM /6 AM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/...
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AS OF 300 PM SATURDAY...DRY AND SEASONABLE WEATHER FOR THE EXTENDED HOLIDAY WKND WITH SEASONABLE TEMPS AND PARTLY/MOSTLY SUNNY SKY CONDITIONS. BROAD CYCLONIC FLOW AT 500MB WILL GRADUALLY GIVE WAY TO A MORE ZONAL PATTERN DURING MONDAY. WHILE THIS KEEPS THE MID LEVEL WINDS W/NW...A COOL BUT DRYING DIRECTION...SUBTLE HEIGHT RISES WILL AID IN TEMPERATURE RECOVERY BY MONDAY. AT THE SURFACE...HIGH PRESSURE WILL DRIFT OVERHEAD DURING SUNDAY BEFORE TAKING UP A POSITION OFFSHORE INTO MONDAY WITH SW RETURN FLOW FLOODING INTO THE AREA. TEMPS SUNDAY WILL RISE TO AROUND OR JUST BELOW 80 DEGREES...THEN BUMP A FEW DEGREES WARMER FOR MEMORIAL DAY WHEN MOST LOCATIONS AWAY FROM THE BEACHES WILL RISE INTO THE LOW 80S. SUNDAY NIGHT WILL AGAIN BE COOL...MID 50S ACROSS THE AREA...BUT THE WARM RETURN FLOW MONDAY NIGHT WILL KEEP MINS FROM FALLING OUT OF THE LOWER 60S. WHILE PRECIP CHANCES WILL BE QUITE LOW CANNOT ENTIRELY RULE OUT AN ISOLATED SHOWER DURING MONDAY. INCREASED SURFACE TEMPS CREATE SOME ENHANCED INSTABILITY WHICH WILL TRIGGER CONVECTIVE CLOUDS...AND MAYBE A SHOWER. HOWEVER...NW FLOW ABOVE 800MB IS A DRYING FLOW...AND 700MB THERMAL RIDGE REMAINS DISPLACED SLIGHTLY WEST OF SURFACE HIGH LEADING TO A WEAK INVERSION IN THE 800-700MB LAYER. THIS WILL PRECLUDE WIDESPREAD CONVECTION...BUT A FEW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE SEA BREEZE BOUNDARY WHERE SURFACE CONVERGENCE MAY BE ENOUGH TO SEND PARCELS THROUGH THIS CONVECTIVE LID.
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&& .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
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AS OF 300 PM SATURDAY...MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE REMAINS CONSISTENT IN BUILDING AN ANOMALOUS RIDGE OVER THE EAST COAST WITH TROUGHING OUT WEST. ANOMALY IS NOT THE MOST IMPRESSIVE WITH HEIGHTS NEAR TWO STANDARD DEVIATIONS ABOVE NORMAL. THE SAME MODEL SUITE IS SHOWING THE WARMER 850MB TEMPERATURES CONFINED TO AREAS NORTH OF US IN THE MID ATLANTIC STATES. THIS SEEMS REASONABLE LOOKING AT MODEL GUIDANCE AND WPC NUMBERS WHICH ONLY SHOW MODEST WARMING THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD. THE CWA REMAINS VOID OF ANY FORECAST MAX TEMPERATURES AT OR ABOVE 90 DEGREES. SLIGHT CHANCE POPS REMAIN IN THE FORECAST TUESDAY THEN DRY CONDITIONS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD.
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&& .AVIATION /20Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 18Z...HIGH CONFIDENCE FOR VFR. QUIET AND BEAUTIFUL WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH THE ONLY CHANGE IN THE FORECAST BEING THE EXPECTED WIND SHIFTS. NORTH-NORTHWEST WINDS AOB 10 KTS THIS AFTERNOON WILL QUICKLY AFTER THE TAF ISSUANCE TIME BACK TO THE WEST-SOUTHWEST AS A RIDGE BUILDING INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST. THIS EVENING WINDS WILL LIGHT AND VARIABLE...BECOMING GENERALLY NORTH AOB 6 KTS AFTER DAYBREAK ON SUNDAY. EXTENDED OUTLOOK...CANNOT RULE OUT POTENTIAL FOR MORNING FOG MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. OTHERWISE VFR. && .MARINE...
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NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 300 PM SATURDAY...ALREADY LIGHT NORTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHTER THROUGH THE PERIOD AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES OVERHEAD. SEAS ARE NOW IN THE 2 TO 3 FT RANGE BUT WILL SETTLE CLOSER TO 2 FT THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 300 PM SATURDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL DRIFT ACROSS THE WATERS SUNDAY...SETTLING IN A POSITION JUST NE OF THE LOCAL WATERS ON MONDAY. THIS WILL CONTINUE A RELATIVELY LIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT...AND ALTHOUGH WINDS WILL BE 10 KTS OR LESS THROUGH THE PERIOD...THEY WILL GRADUALLY GO FROM VARIABLE...TO A PREDOMINANT SOUTHERLY DIRECTION LATE MONDAY. WITH THE WEAK GRADIENT AND LIGHT WINDS...SEAS WILL BE PRIMARILY SWELL-DRIVEN...WITH A 2FT/9SEC SE SWELL PRODUCING 1-3 FT WAVES BOTH DAYS. LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 300 PM SATURDAY... TYPICAL SUMMER PATTERN WILL ALLOW FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR THE MARINE COMMUNITY. MID LEVEL RIDGING WILL BUILD OVER THE MID ATLANTIC STATES WITH THE SURFACE RIDGE AXIS BASICALLY OVER THE COASTAL WATERS. SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 10-15 KNOTS WILL PREVAIL. WAVEWATCH BULLETINS CONTINUE TO BE VOID OF ANY APPRECIABLE SWELL COMPONENT AND SIGNIFICANT SEAS CAN BE EXPECTED TO HOLD IN A 2-4 FOOT RANGE.
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&& .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. NC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && $$ SYNOPSIS...JDW NEAR TERM...REK SHORT TERM...JDW LONG TERM...SHK AVIATION...REK/SGL MARINE...REK/JDW/SHK

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